Solio Lodge

Solio Lodge sits inside Solio Reserve, a private ranch near Nyeri that holds the largest population of black and white rhino of any private conservancy in Kenya. The reserve carries a wide range of large mammals — big cats, plains game, and a full complement of ungulates including giraffe, oryx, waterbuck and impala — four of the Big Five in total. Elephants have been deliberately excluded to protect vegetation for the black rhino.

The lodge has five cottages. Each faces east toward Mount Kenya, with floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening onto a private deck where the peaks are often visible in the morning. High thatched roofs keep the spaces cool; fireplaces take over at night. Cottages five and six connect through a shared lounge to form a family suite.

Game drives use vehicles with modified rooftop seating and pull-out stoves for bush breakfasts cooked to order in the field. On the ground, you can track rhino on foot with a guide, ride one of the six lodge horses across open plains, or take a mountain bike out on the ranch. The Aberdare National Park, thirty minutes away, adds trout fishing on mountain rivers. Helicopter excursions to Mount Kenya or the Suguta Valley can be arranged through Tropic Air.

The kitchen garden supplies ingredients to the lodge kitchen; meals are served on the deck, in the field, or on your own cottage veranda.